In The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkein's unlikely hero, Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, titles the tale of his epic journey across Middle Earth "There and Back Again." It was a perilous undertaking, fraught with danger, but not without its share of high adventure. It's the stuff legend is made of.

Had Bilbo been able to use the Pioneer AVIC-N1 along the way, however, his journey would've been considerably different — the danger and peril would've floated unnoticeably away, leaving just the adventure. "There and back again" would've been nothing but fun.

Think of the AVIC-N1 as the One Ring of the mobile electronics world, without all the evil overtones, of course.

The AVIC-N1 Arrives, the Adventure Begins

When I received advance word that Pioneer had wrapped touch-screen system control, mobile video, DVD/CD/MP3 playback, and GPS navigation in one, compact, standard-dash-sized package, I was very excited about its potential. I mean, come on — all that entertainment in a single, relatively easy-to-install package? It sounded too good to be true. Or at least too good actually to be any good.

Look, Ma! Dolphins! Selectable wallpapers (no animations, sadly) make for delightful scenery in A/V mode. You can even upload your own!

So when the AVIC-N1 I was to review arrived, I was excited, but skeptical. Could it really be that powerful and versatile?

Oh, is it ever.

To be as brief as possible: I love this receiver. Love, love, love it. Not just for the number of functions it can perform, but for how well it performs each of them. It's a spectacular receiver, a nice foundation for a mobile-video system, and an extremely accurate navigation device. It didn't just exceed my admittedly hesitant expectations; it blew the best of them right out of the metaphorical water.

The only problem I have with it: it's so good, I'm having trouble deciding where to begin telling you all about it. But I'll do my best.